AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
233 
Sale of Imported Cattle in Kentucky—Correction of 
an Error. 
iN'the report of the sale of these cattle on page 
186 of this paper, we remarked by way of ex¬ 
planation for the high prices they brought, that 
“the Stockholders of the Importing Association 
alone were the purchasers.” 
Mr. Kinnaird, of Lexington, Ky., assures us 
that we have been mis-informed in this matter, 
for some of the highest priced animals were 
bought by persons who were not stockholders, 
while some of the largest stockholders did not 
buy a single animal. He adds: “ I deem this 
correction necessary, as it somewhat alters the 
view taken of the high prices obtained at the 
sale. The principal reason for these prices was 
the spirit of the breeders who were present, and 
their determination to have some of the best 
cattle, and their belief that they were of the best 
that could be procured in England.” 
We are happy to insert the above correction; 
but in justice to ourselves will observe, that our 
authority for what we first published was a Ken¬ 
tuckian who called upon us, and we supposed 
at the time , that he was one of the stockholders 
of the Association, and therefore knew perfectly 
well all about it. 
Journal of Agriculture. —This excellent 
periodical is ..published in Boston, Mass., and 
edited with decided spirit and no little share of 
ability, by War. S. King, Esq., as principal 
editor. It is handsomely got up, and we un¬ 
derstand is meeting with deserved success. It 
enters upon a new volume on the first of Jan¬ 
uary next, and we trust our New-England 
friends, and indeed all others, will include it 
among their list of periodicals the coming year. 
--•*©-«- 
Securing Wild Bees. —A swarm of bees was 
discovered last fall, by Mr. Edward Smith, in the 
woods of Mr. Alexander Gould, in the eastern 
part of Kennebunkport, in a large, hollow hem¬ 
lock tree. On Thursday last, Mr. Smith, with 
help, proceeded to the capture of this buzzing 
family. The hole by which the bees entered the 
tree was one or two feet from the ground. Hav¬ 
ing erected a staging, they commenced cutting 
off the tree about eight feet from the ground 
being as they supposed above the bees, but found 
when the shell had been cut through, that this 
was not high enough to be clear of them. They 
then stopped up the opening they had made, 
and cut the tree off still higher, being some nine 
feet from the ground, which was but just above 
the bees. Then, they cut the tree off at the 
bottom, stopped up the ends, tipped the log over 
and hauled it home, where they set it up on end 
as before, and will endeavor to keep the bees in 
their present quarters. This tree was about two 
and a half feet in diameter at the top where cut 
off, and the hollow very large and, appeared to 
be actually filled with bees and honey. Two 
other hives were found and captured by the 
same man and his brother, near where this was 
taken, last fall, each of which contained about 
thirty pounds of honey.— Maine Farmer. 
We have seen several swarms of bees secured 
in this manner, at the West. 
We once caught a stray swarm of bees that 
were flying through the air. Hearing their 
well-known noise at a distance, we instantly 
summoned out the whole household with tin 
pans, brass kettles, &c., and as they passed, so 
loud a noise was kept up, that the swarm lost 
the notes of their queen, and becoming confused, 
they soon settled in a cluster upon an apple tree, 
from whence we removed them to a straw hive, 
which we chanced to have on hand. They 
liked their new abode so well, that they gave 
up their migratory habits, and for several years 
they annually furnished us with new swarms 
and a good supply of honey. After five or six 
years, however, we lost the whole by not guard¬ 
ing them sufficiently against the attacks of the 
bee-moth. 
POTATO ROT. 
Three weeks since we published a communi¬ 
cation from Mr. Brokaw in reference to leaving 
seed potatoes in the ground over winter, as a 
preventative against the potato disease. In our 
appended notes we asked the Maine Farmer to 
inform us, whether in that colder climate, pota¬ 
toes left in the ground over the winter, would 
withstand the effects of the frost, and sprout in 
the spring. The editor of that paper publishes 
Mr. Brokaw’s communication and our remarks, 
and in answer to our inquiry says : 
Yes, Sir. We have always a “volunteer crop” 
of potatoes here in Maine, from potatoes left in 
the ground over winter. It is a very common 
thing to see potatoes growing up in the spring, 
in fields where the potatoes grew the last year, 
either from hills that were not opened at digging 
time, or from tubers accidentally buried in the 
process of digging in the fall previous. 
We know of no experiments that have been 
tried to test the comparative advantage this 
mode would have, in raising early potatoes, or 
in preventing disease. It is pretty evident that 
those which are found sound in the spring, can¬ 
not have any taint of the rot in them, for if they 
had they would have decayed long before. We 
published the following paragraph about a year 
ago: 
“ We have been informed by Mr. Martin 
CusHiNGf an aged citizen of Winthrop, that in 
1805, he resided in Bath, and witnessed an ex¬ 
periment of a person who worked on the farm 
of the late P. Talman. He planted a field with 
potatoes in the fall, just before the ground froze. 
In the spring following they came up well; he 
hoed them carefully, and kept them free from 
weeds, and in the month of June, (they were 
probably an early variety,) he began to dig them. 
They sold readily for a dollar a bushel. He had 
an abundant crop, and sold five hundred bushels 
at that price.” 
We hope some of our readers will try the 
experiment of Mr. Cushing, mentioned above, 
another year, and give us the result. It may 
prove of great benefit to themselves as well as 
to others. 
Steaming Hay. —The ordinary plan is to en¬ 
close a lot of the hay in a box, large cask, or 
otherwise, to let steam in from below, where 
there is also a stop-cock, by which the water of 
condensation may be allowed to escape at in¬ 
tervals.— Gardeners' Chronicle. 
---- 
PLANTING TREES. 
TnE editor of the Windham County (Conn.) 
Telegraph —a very good paper by the way, and 
one ably and thoroughly devoted to the devel¬ 
opment of the various industrial home interests, 
has a good article on planting shade trees. He 
says: 
The villages of Brooklyn, Plainfield, and Pom- 
fret are noted for their rural beauty and are, in 
consequence, very much resorted to by summer 
visitors. Take from them their trees and you 
deprive them of the half of their attractions. So 
too, if you take any of our treeless villages and 
line their streets with thrifty shade trees, if you 
guard them with a little care, a few years will 
double the beauty of that village, will increase 
the attractions which bind the young people to 
their youthful home, and, we add, as the Yankee 
argument, will more than repay first cost in 
the increased value of the tree guarded property. 
The same house on a beautiful street is worth 
vastly more than on a barren plain. Verdure 
about a house adds manifold to its attractive¬ 
ness. 
“ But we have set out trees and they have 
been girdled by cattle or by boys.” Well, what 
of it? Try it again. Wash your trees with a 
decoction of tobacco, and keep them so, and cat¬ 
tle will not girdle them. Put fences large 
enough and strong enough, which you can do 
cheaply enough, and cattle will not girdle them. 
Unite with your neighbors to adorn your village 
streets with trees, and go with them into town 
meeting, asking of the town protection against 
cattle running in the streets, and you will re¬ 
ceive it. Use the present laws on the subject 
for your own protection. A word spoken in 
kindness to your neighbor whose cattle annoy 
you will probably take the place of all these 
legal appliances, and certainly the union of a 
neighborhood will create a moral sentiment 
which will thus avail. Place hitching-posts in 
sufficiency near your house and let it be known 
that you are sensitive to the use of your trees 
it their stead, and horses will not long be tied to 
them. And as for the boys, we can only say 
that we pity your lot if it is cast in a community 
where they are habitually guilty of such out¬ 
rages on propriety. Firmness joined with 
kindness can remedy this trouble in the very 
rare instances where it exists. 
Let us then have a Tree Society in every 
town and village in our country. The trees set 
out by individual efforts on Brooklyn Common, 
and near its school-house some three years 
since show that something can be done in that 
way, and in that way, if in no other, let it be 
done. 
Poultry Exhibition at Albany. —We sup¬ 
pose we started the announcement of a Poultry 
Show, to be held at Albany on the 10th, 11th, 
and 12th of January next; and we did it by 
authority of the officers of the State Poultry 
Association. They have since, however, changed 
the time to correspond with that of the Winter 
Exhibition of the State Agricultural Society. 
The grand Poultry Show will accordingly take 
place at Albany, on Tuesday, Wednesday, and 
Thursday, February 7th, 8th, and 9th. This 
change of time has been deemed advisable, to 
accommodate those who shall wish to attend 
both the Agricultural and Poultry Exhibitions.— 
Utica Herald. 
Cheap Mode of Filtering Water. —As effi¬ 
cient a filter as can possibly be constructed may 
be made in a few minutes by any person, and at 
the cost of a very few pence. Procure a clean 
fiower-pot of the common kind, close the open¬ 
ing in the bottom by a piece of sponge, then 
place in the inside a layer of small stones, pre¬ 
viously well cleansed by washing; this layer 
may be about two inches deep, the upper stones 
being very small; next procure some freshly- 
burnt charcoal, which has not been kept in a 
damp or foul place, as it rapidly absorbs any 
strong smells, and so becomes tainted and unfit 
for such purpose; reduce this to powder, and 
mix it with twice its bulk of clear, well-washed, 
sharp sand. With this mixture fill the pot to 
within a short distance of the top, covering it 
with a layer of small stones, or what is perhaps 
better, place a piece of thick close flannel over 
it, large enough to tie round the rim of the pot 
outside, and to form a hollow inside, into which 
the water to be filtered is to be poured, and 
which will be found to flow out rapidly through 
the sponge in an exceedingly pure state. The 
flannel removes the grosser impurities floating 
in the water, but the filter absorbs much of the 
decaying animal and vegetable bodies actually 
dissolved in it; when it becomes charged with 
them it loses this power, hence the necessity 
for a supply of fresh charcoal at intervals.— 
Monthly Observer. 
